Make your own Truck Bed Drawers

Make your own Truck Bed Drawers

Truck bed drawers are likely to cost you $1000 plus but for much less you can make them yourself. They are easy to build and you won’t have to compromise on the quality either. If you follow this guide they will stand up to years of wear and tear. It’s also an enjoyable project you will be proud to have completed.

This article along with the video I made to go with it, should be enough information to build your own set of drawers.

Materials

Plywood is strong and easy to work with, making it ideal for building this project. I used 17mm plywood for the base and the drawer sides and 12mm for the drawer bottoms to save on weight. I recommend to use similar sizes (16-19mm for the base and stick with 12mm for the drawer bottoms). The amount you will need will depend on a couple things, the size of your truck bed and the height of the unit. The height of the drawers need considering, especially if you have a canopy fitted to your truck. Higher drawers will allow you to fit in more items but will reduce the space above the unit. That is a decision you need to make for yourself.

The biggest saving that you make by building yourself, is the cost of the drawer slides. Long heavy duty drawer slides are expensive. If I bought slides for the set up I built (two drawers) it would’ve cost around $500. Making our own super strong and smooth working slides will cost around $75. All that’s needed are skateboard bearings, 25mm box section steel and nuts and bolts.

Base

The first task is to build the base floor. I used strips of plywood around 200mm wide and built up the base by joining them with pocket holes. This may appear like a lot of work but pocket holes are fast to work with. By using strips it was easy to size for my bed and make the base a perfect fit. Having a tight fit means the unit isn’t going to move around while you are driving. It will also be lighter than a full sheet and you can use up any smaller pieces of plywood you may have. This can also be achieved with a single sheet. You will need to work out the dimensions of your truck bed and make cutouts for the wheel arches etc.

Base Sides

Next the base sides, centre piece and back need cutting and fixing. The height of these pieces are 20mm deeper than the drawers. Regular screws driven in from underneath the base would work. I fixed them with pocket hole screws . You should always predrill and use glue before driving in the screws. Take your time and be sure the sides and centre piece are parallel.

Drawers

The drawers are nothing fancy, a simple box glued and screwed together. The drawer bottoms were cut to fit then glued and nailed those in place.

Next I pre drilled holes along the sides of each drawer. The height isn’t important but somewhere around the middle. This is to attach the steel box section that will act as runners. I fixed these with self drilling metal screws from the inside of the drawers. The width of the drawers with the runners fitted should fit snugly in the base. 1mm gap between each runner and base side is perfect.

Drawer Slides

Going back to the base we are now ready to fit the skateboard bearings to make the drawer slides. First we need to work out the height for the bearings. This is determined by the position the runner was fixed onto the drawers. There needs to be around 10mm between the drawer bottom and the base floor. The gap between the top and bottom bearings should be the same thickness as the runner, a slight gap would be fine. I made a quick jig to drill the holes in the correct position. Then it is a case of drilling holes for the bearings to be bolted to the sides. Watching the video at this stage will be helpful.

If the base is parallel the drawers should fit. If there’s any slight binding a squirt of silicone spray on the side of the runner will help. A top still needs fitting which will strengthen the whole unit. You may find at this point the drawers don’t run quite right as the centre piece of the base isn’t supported at the front.

Fitting the Unit

To fix the finished base into the truck bed I made use of tie down points located in the corners of the bed. I did this by fixing pieces of plywood to the base then bolting those pieces to where the tie downs were. If you are happy to drill holes in the truck bed floor you could bolt directly through it. Another option would be to use a few dabs of silicone or construction adhesive between the bed and the base. One way or another the base needs to be well fixed to the bed. Otherwise it will bounce around every time you hit a bump in the road and could eventually weaken and break. The last task is cutting and fitting the top, this will add strength to the unit. It’s simple task of measuring, cutting and screwing plywood to the top. I didn’t use glue here but I did use plenty of screws.

Optional Extras

A few items I haven’t gone into that certainly finish off the project and give it that pro touch are:

A catch to stop the drawers from moving backwards and forwards while driving.

A stop to prevent the drawer being pulled too far and out of the unit.

Sharp looking layout. I’m thinking longterm about if I need to pull out drawers and platform to do other truck related activities. I think your design looks somewhat permanent. Anything ideas you might do differently if you wanted this to be somewhat removable?
Thanks!
mj in colorado.

It is very permanent, saying that I could take it out with some effort, but not what you’re looking for. You could just make the main section without filling the sides in so it slides snugly between the wheel arches. You would have to work out a way to hold it down, unless that doesn’t worry you. If it was a good fit it wouldn’t move around but if you do any off-roading it may bounce around a little.

Thanks Don! The bearings are standard skateboard bearings I bought off ebay, I paid $30 for 50. The inner diameter of the bearings are 8mm so I used M8 bolts, the length depends on the thickness of plywood you use but 40mm for the sides should work. I used 60mm for the centre piece where there is a bearing either side of the plywood. You can get these from any hardware store. Hope this helps!

I’m not sure off the top of my head but I’m very happy with height, I wouldn’t change it. You should spend a little time visualising it before you start but it’s a balance between the height of the drawers and how much space you leave above. 🙂

Awesome work! Some of the best I’ve seen online for sure. I was curious, would you recommend sleeping on top of the drawers? I’m looking to do the same thing in my Tacoma but sleep two adults on a full sized futon on top. Do you think it could support our weight? (approx 350 lbs)

Awesome video!! Will be doing this in my Tundra and trying to configure a pullout shelf for my dog crates. I will need to build the crates custom as they will need to be slanted on the corners. I hope I can make it work. This is the best I have seen yet…thanks!!!

Neil, thanks for documenting this project. I built my own set of pull-outs patterned after yours and they turned out great. The skateboard bearings/steel square tube design is genius! Now I have a place to store my tools and not have to unload and load them each day. Love your channel by the way.

Hi mate, great job. Could you share what grade plywood you are using? Marine ply cost puts this project around $1000, but your opening suggests you paid much less. So curious if you used a different grade? Thanks.

Thanks Chris! I used cheap plywood nothing fancy. Marine ply here is just under $100 a sheet (18mm) $81 (15mm) so the overall cost wouldn’t be anywhere near $1000. My build cost $300 including $90 for the rubber mat, using marine ply would’ve pushed it up to around $400-450. 🙂

hey CHRIS i just bought 2 sheets of construction ply from Bunnings and they cost me around 100$ steel for runners around 20$ for 6 meter length from southern steel bearings 50$ off eBay marine carpet about 20$ a meter handles i used about 20# each Bunnings Roughly 140/150$ paint i had in garage. Hope this helps with Aust prices and supplier.

I love this design and how to video! I’m looking forward to making my own, just wanted some feedback as to what you thought the best way to weather proof it would be. I don’t have a bed cap, and buying one isn’t an option. Thanks!

Thanks John! If I were to make one that’s weatherproof I would make it out of formply or marine ply and silicone all the joints on the base. Maybe you would need a small overhang above the drawer fronts with a drip groove too. 🙂

Great work… I will be attempting something in the back of my vehicle soon and like your simple layout. Well Done! During my looking around I saw something similar that would work well if you were camping etc that I would definitely do. They had a rebate around the top of one drawer with inserts/tops that would make a good working surface/table.
Thanks

Awesome tutorial. It was really professionally done. I’m looking at building one for my truck. I posted this question on your YouTube channel but thought I would also post it here. What would you estimate is the total weight of this? Thank you.

Hi Chuck! I think I just answered that on YouTube but anyway I’m really not sure what the weight would be. But, I reckon these trucks are made to carry a fair amount of weight and the weight of these drawers would be quite insignificant. 🙂

This would be a great write up if it had measurements we could understand….no one sells “17mm plywood”….not sure why people insist on making everything more complicated, just for the sake of being trendy. I get it if you are a native European, but when I see you write “12.5cm” on your wood, it’s clear you’re going to a LOT of trouble not to write 1/2″ …lol

Measurements aren’t included because everyones truck is different. I’ve included material thickness that I used but state similar would still be fine, so it doesn’t have to be 17mm (it’s flexible). How have I made anything more complicated, I’ve given the exact information I’ve used. Do you realise how many emails I receive daily (along with photos of peoples own builds) with the thanks for sharing this info and how helpful it has been to them. And btw 12.5cm is around 5″ not 1/2″. lol! 🙂

Great video and instructions.
I am gong to make te 2 sides higher and build just a plain platform for my air compressor and some other big tools all based on your design.
Got 8 foot 1×1 14 gauge rubbing 8 pieces for $100.00
100 bearings from eBay for $23.00.
All I need now is the plywood.
Thank you mate.from Florida USA.
Ps.
Don’t worry about the metric comments.
They don’t know.

Hi Pask, thank you for sharing a great video and awesome drawer system which I am definitely going to use for a system for my ranger. My son and I was watching it with admiration and appreciation for good quality work.

I LOVE your design and wish I had the woodworking tools you have. That would make my build so much easier. I’m another individual from the states and wonder if you have alternative ideas for connecting the pieces? I suppose I could go buy that devise if I knew what it was. “Still an Amateur!” 🙂
And as I’m sure you’re already aware, folks with amazing ideas always seem to have “Haters.” They’re extremely annoying.
Keep up the great work!

Hi Pask,
Fantastic video, just what I’ve been looking for so THANKS.
I’m about to build a similar set for my Nissan Navara. Just one question if I may; as you used 25mm square hoolow section, what centres did you set the bearings at please?
Thanks in advance.
Dave (Sheffield, England)

Hi how does the bearing set up work? Do you have a nut/washer on the M8 bar on the inside of the bearings to stop the bearings rubbing against the plywood?
TIA. Great build, great video. Thanks for sharing.

Sir, I have no idea why it took so long to discover your amazing channel. I will be building a set of these drawers for my Chevy truck soon. Just curious on the use of the blocks in front. It looks like you fitted the top right over them and didn’t make access for that inside space. Did I miss something? Is there a structural reason? I need every square inch available. This will be loaded with my “zombie apocalypse” kit 🙂

Hi there, really like your drawers. just one question though. In the video you say the back plate is “angled back” to prevent the drawer base from lifting up. Then when you put in the sides and centre panel it seems it is perpendicular to the base? There is nothing said about this on this page. Any clarity on that, or is it not critical?
Another question [that makes it 2 now :-)] do you drill pocket holes on both sides of the side and centre panels?
Cheers
Sean

The back of the truck bed is angled not my unit. The base of the unit sticks out a little at the back and pushed right up to the angled truck bed it is impossible for it to lift up. I would guess most truck beds would be vertical so you may not be able to do this but I mention other ways of fixing the unit down. If you viewed the video again it should make sense. 🙂